Albemarle Creates Alt-Fuels Division

22 December 2006

Albemarle’s estimate of the growth of the GTL catalyst market. Click to enlarge.

Albemarle Corporation, a leading global catalyst and specialty chemical maker, has created a new division focusing on alternative fuel technologies.

To be led by Ray Hurley, formerly vice president for catalysts, the new division will focus on developing the market for Albemarle’s catalysts in Canadian oil sands, coal-to-liquids (CTL), gas-to-liquids (GTL) and biomass-to-liquids (BTL) technologies. In addition, he will focus on alliance opportunities in alternative fuels.

Currently, Albemarle co-develops or custom manufactures Fischer-Tropsch and Fischer-Tropsch Upgrading catalysts. The company sees many synergies between the Fischer-Tropsch fuels and chemicals catalysts that will be required and its FCC (Fluidized Catalytic Cracking) and HPC (Hydroprocessing Catalysts) product lines.

Albemarle is focusing first on the GTL market followed by CTL and then BTL.

Research and development of new catalyst products for the alternative fuels group will occur Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Houston, Texas; and The Netherlands.

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When you look at the slide set, you see China's ambitious plans. A strong central government can decide to do 1m bpd of synthetic fuel, and do it! They do not wait for Exxon nor ADM to decide if Brazillian T Bonds are more profitable.